Council upholds denial of contract-zone request

SANFORD — The town council has denied a developer’s request for a waiver of a requirement to connect proposed residential units to the public sewer system.

William Elwell, of Rochester, N.H., applied for a contract zone for a five-acre property he owns on Cottage Street. Elwell was seeking to construct single-family homes with separate septic systems on the property; however, the lot is in the Residential Development zone (RD), which requires that new homes connect to the public sewer system.

The developer submitted an application for contract (or flexible) zoning for the property requesting that the requirement to hook up to the public sewer be waived to permit the use of individual septic systems. Contract zoning is a provision by which changes to the zoning ordinance may be permitted — on a case-by-case basis — provided the requested change is consistent with Sanford’s comprehensive plan.

Contract zone requests are submitted to, and reviewed by, the Sanford Planning Board, but the town council makes the final decision on whether or not to approve a contract zoning agreement.

After its review of Elwell’s request, the planning board determined that it did not meet requirements for contract zoning.

The planning board also pointed out that Elwell’s property was included in the sewer service area as shown in Sanford’s Comprehensive Plan, and therefore concluded that the requirement to hook up to the public sewer is consistent with the comprehensive plan.

The request and the planning board’s recommendation was forwarded to the town council for a final decision, as required by the zoning ordinance.

The town council voted at its Nov. 13 meeting to uphold the planning board’s decision and denied the contract zone request as it was not consistent with Sanford’s Comprehensive Plan.